Roush has Kluever on fast track
By Mark AshenfelterFor Kyle Busch, there are no more rookie of the year awards in his future. The same holds true for Carl Edwards. But for Todd Kluever, there could be two more if things work out right.
Kluever will compete for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award in the Busch Series next year after capturing the prize in the Craftsman Truck Series this season. Then, in 2007, he's slated to make a run at the award in the Nextel Cup Series once he replaces Mark Martin in Roush Racing's No. 6 Ford.
And Kluever is one in a long line of rookie winners with Roush Racing, as Greg Biffle (1998), Kurt Busch (2000) and Edwards ('03) won the award in a Roush truck. Biffle and Edwards also won the award in the Busch Series, giving Kluever something to shoot for.
"I have to thank Jack Roush for the opportunities that I've had already," an appreciative Kluever says. "It's pretty amazing what he's done as far as helping people develop their careers in the Craftsman Truck Series. And having four people come through his organization that turn out to be Raybestos Rookie of the Year is pretty impressive.
"I'm excited about the future. All of the Busch plans aren't finalized exactly at this moment, but I'm excited about it. They tell me that if I can pull off rookie of the year three years in a row, I'll be the first driver to do it. Greg Biffle was the only other one [who had a chance], but I think Jamie [McMurray] beat him in the [then Winston] Cup Series."
Kluever's year was solid, if not spectacular, as a few near misses when he had a chance to reach Victory Lane kept him from making more of a mark in the series. Still, he had seven top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in 25 starts, so it wasn't a bad year.
He finished second to Dennis Setzer at Indianapolis Raceway Park in August and second to Todd Bodine at Kansas in July.
"Our season has really been up and down. The first 12 or so races, I had a different crew chief, a different engineer and a different truck chief, and for whatever reason, we really didn't click," Kluever says. "We ran in the top five a couple of times, and we ran 25th a couple of times, too, so it was really inconsistent and really frustrating for me.
"Just before Kansas, Jack made a change, and me and Ricky [Craven] swapped crews a little bit. I got Mike Beam as a crew chief and Hal Rolston as an engineer and Steve McCain as a truck chief, and for whatever reason, we've really clicked. The last half of the season has been really good. We're lacking a little bit as far as aerodynamics, I think, with the Ford program a little bit right now, but they're working on it."
The situation improved as the year went on, which, in conjunction with more experience, helped Kluever show his potential better.
"The trucks that I drove at the end of the season were a lot better than the stuff we were driving at the beginning of the season, and that's thanks to Mike Beam and Hal, especially for doing a lot of homework during the season," Kluever says. "The second half was great, I just wish we could have started the season off the same way. I really feel like we gave the first half of the season away.
"I really didn't feel we started competing and racing until Kansas. Part of the thing the first year is learning, and you can't learn anything if you're running 15th or 20th. You have to be in the top five running with the guys that run up there very week. It's been a great second half, and an up-and-down first half, but the only disappointment that I have is that we didn't win a race."
In the Busch Series, Edwards beat out Reed Sorenson for top rookie honors. Although Edwards wasn't a rookie in Nextel Cup because he had run too many Cup races in 2004, he was eligible for the award in the Busch Series and took full advantage.
"It means a lot to win Raybestos Rookie of the Year," Edwards says. "It's a great program, and to beat a guy of Reed Sorenson's caliber is really an honor. I'm very proud of it."
Crew chief Brad Parrott knows it was an odd situation but is glad his driver made the most of it by edging Sorenson, Denny Hamlin and Jon Wood.
"Our team is strong, too, and I felt like we had the best rookie," Parrott says. "It's kind of a weird rookie because he's running for the Cup championship, also, but the rules are what they are. I took advantage of it in February and got us in the rookie of the year race. Carl Edwards is more than a rookie. He's champion. He's now been rookie of the year in the Craftsman Truck Series and Busch Series. Unfortunately, they kept him out of Cup, [but] that's OK."
It certainly had to be fine where Kyle Busch was concerned, as he easily outran Travis Kvapil for rookie honors at the Cup level.
"It's been a great achievement of mine to win Raybestos Rookie of the Year, especially in consecutive years," said the driver who was the top rookie in the Busch Series in 2004. "I'm ecstatic. I'm just glad that this year is over and we ran well enough to [win it]. Travis was definitely a great racer out there. He was always racing everybody clean, and he didn't get into many wrecks.
"He might have had a little bit more mechanical failure than driver failure. It just shows that he was a tough competitor out there. His results were just a little bit worse than ours, and we were able to win Raybestos Rookie of the Year. He's still a great driver."
Busch, though, is the one who posted the numbers, with two wins, a pole, nine top-fives and 13 top-10s to his credit. And that's how a rookie of the year is made.
Mark Ashenfelter is an associate editor at NASCAR Scene magazine and a contributor to ESPN.com.
